Bedbugs, Kotor, The Queen, Burmese Pythons,

The other day someone on Facebook told me about The Bedbug Registry where you can check on your intended hotel to see if they have been reported as having bed bugs at any time. What a marvellous site. There has been so much discussion about this unpleasant subject lately that I was beginning to feel quite nervous about staying in a hotel. Of course we are staying in a regularly rented cottage so I guess they could get bed bugs too.

One of my blogging friends is cruising in Alaska at the moment and a comment on her blog queried the use of fjord, being a Scandinavian word. However, they use fjord in Montenegro too. My family and I sailed the Kotor Fjord in 1969 when it was still known as Yugoslavia.  If you follow the link, there are lots of gorgeous pictures, it is a very beautiful area. We stopped at one point during our trip up and down the fjord and went for a swim. I guess the water comes right off the mountains, or we hit a spring or something, because it was the coldest swim I have ever had, none of us stayed in more than a few seconds and yet we had swum in other parts of Kotor without any problems. My parents spent quite a long time in Yugoslavia, but being a working stiff, I had to fly home after two weeks. The day I left was the day they were broadcasting the moon landing which I couldn’t hear very well because although it was in English, they were, of course, translating it as they went along.

This is an extremely clever portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II which I stole from Sue at Pencilpix. It is a You Tube video.

Looks like Florida has a problem. As reported by CBC news,they recently caught a giant Burmese Python which was 17 1/2 ft. long and was pregnant with 87 eggs. It is said that these pythons have become well established in the Everglades and will be very difficult to eradicate. Some got there by being released by owners, and some escaped from pet shops after hurricane damage. As stated in the article, a snake of that size could eat anything it wanted. They believe tens of thousands of these pythons live in the Everglades and as they also say, the local wildlife is in trouble. I always wanted to go to the Everglades, I have changed my mind.

Here is a dessert from Kraft  Kitchens which looks appealing. I like the combination of blueberries and raspberries.

Blueberry Refrigerator Pie

What You Need

7 Tbsp. butter, divided

50 VANILLA Wafers, finely crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)

4 cups fresh blueberries, divided

1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided

3/4 cup cold water, divided

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Zest and juice of 1 lemon, divided

3/4 cup boiling water

1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Lemon Flavor Gelatin

Ice cubes

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

Make It

HEAT oven to 350°F.

RESERVE 1 Tbsp. butter. Melt remaining butter; mix with wafer crumbs. Press onto bottom and up side of 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Bake 10 min. or until golden brown.

BRING 1-1/2 cups blueberries, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp. cold water to boil in saucepan, stirring constantly. Dissolve cornstarch in 3 Tbsp. of the remaining cold water; whisk into blueberry mixture. Simmer on low heat 2 min. or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add reserved butter; stir until melted. Reserve 1/2 tsp. lemon zest and 1 tsp. juice. Stir remaining zest and juice into blueberry mixture; pour into crust.

ADD boiling water to gelatin mix in medium bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add enough ice to remaining cold water to measure 1 cup. Add to gelatin; stir until slightly thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. Whisk 1 cup COOL WHIP into gelatin. Refrigerate 15 min. or until gelatin mixture is thick enough to mound. Stir in 1-1/2 cups of the remaining blueberries; spoon over blueberry layer in crust.

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm. Top pie with remaining COOL WHIP. Toss remaining blueberries with reserved lemon zest, juice and remaining sugar; spoon over pie.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Size-Wise

You'll know it's a special occasion when you get to enjoy a serving of this refreshing pie.

Variation

Prepare using orange zest and juice.

Note

If you don't have a tart pan, you can use a plastic wrap-lined 9-inch round pan instead. Prepare tart as directed. Use plastic wrap handles to lift tart from pan before cutting to serve.

Serves 10

Have a great day